Price’s effort not enough
HOUSTON — With white headphones wrapped around his neck, David Price was already showered, changed and on his way to the bus 10 minutes after the last pitch of the lat- est Red Sox debacle.
The clubhouse door opened to let in the media, and Price marched confidently out. After a much-scrutinized season, he was perhaps the only player with nothing left to answer for.
Price did what the Red Sox asked yesterday, but there’s only so much a few good innings of middle relief can do. In an 8-2 loss to the Astros in Game 2 of the Division Series, the Sox needed so much more.
And when the latest lopsided loss was over, manager John Farrell seemed at least open to the possibility of giving Price a start in Game 4. That’s assuming, of course, the series isn’t finished after Game 3.
“(If Price starts), it wouldn’t be (tomorrow),” Farrell said. “I think that what we’re seeing is 40 pitches is about the comfort zone which he’s been built out at. He’s throwing the ball very well. He comes in with his back against the wall in a key spot, gets two big outs to end the threat. He’s throwing the ball very, very well.”
If the Indians and Royals spent the past two years showing that a potent bullpen can be the driving force for a deep postseason run, the Sox spent the past two days showing that a bullpen alone just isn’t enough.
The Red Sox felt they had little choice but to put Price in that role when he finally returned from an elbow injury in mid-September. There wasn’t time to get him fully stretched out as a starter, bullpen innings seemed more manageable for his health, and there was great value in his potential to hold a lead for multiple innings between starter and closer.
But without a lead, Price was only killing time yesterday. He was keeping this particular ship — which was only vaguely afloat to begin with — from sinking completely beneath the surface. Of course, it went down anyway.
Price pitched 22⁄3 scoreless innings, getting out of a bases-loaded jam in the third, then working two more innings through the heart of a lineup that has punished lefties. He struck out two, with George Springer’s double his lone blemish.
Craig Kimbrel later pitched a pointless, scoreless eighth inning, just like Rick Porcello pitched a pointless, scoreless eighth inning in Game 1. Aside from Price, Kimbrel and Porcello, the Red Sox have used seven different pitchers in these two games, and they’ve combined for 16 earned runs on 22 hits — six of them home runs — in 111⁄3 innings.
Those seven beat-up pitchers include top starters Chris Sale and Drew Pomeranz and most trusted set-up man Addison Reed.
“These guys are all coming out swinging and swinging at a lot of stuff, being very aggressive,” Pomeranz said. “And every time we’ve made a mistake, they’ve made us pay for it.”
Pomeranz threw a bit of a fit in the dugout when Farrell lifted him after three straight hits to open the third, but it was Price who got out of that jam (only after Carson Smith walked two batters to make the situation even worse).
“I think you’ll find anyone who comes out of the game earlier than they’d like to to be upset,” Pomeranz said. “Obviously I want to stay in the game as long as I can and give it everything I can. I’m disappointed in a lot of different ways, coming out that early.”
Disappointing? Join the club, Drew. These two games have scattered that word all over the Red Sox clubhouse. Yesterday might have been welcome redemption after Price’s own disappointing start in last year’s Division Series, but there could be no redemption in a game like this.
Not when the Astros put themselves on the verge of a sweep. Not when Dustin Pedroia could speak only of his team getting outplayed and their butts getting kicked. Not when a high-profile middle reliever was the only bit of good news.
After 38 pitches yesterday, Farrell said, it’s entirely possible Price could be available out of the bullpen again in Game 3 tomorrow. If he’s not needed then, it seems Price might even start Game 4.
But at this rate, it’s looking more and more like Price is going to be the one guy who does his job on the mound, without it making a bit of difference in the series.